Sidi Abdel Rahman

Sidi Abdel Rahman is a village on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt. It is most famous for its beach located 132km west of Alexandria and some 30km west of Al Alamein. This desert and beach area is located some 190km east of Mersa Matruh and is often a resting point on trips from Alexandria to the Siwa Oasis and to Matruh.OverviewSidi Abdel Rahman is in the Egyptian Western Desert on a bay of the Mediterranean Sea, has a beautiful beach, and is a great place to rest. Interestingly enough, it is where Mohamed Ibrahim Kamel, Sadat's Foreign Minister, went to rest with his family around August 9, 1978, prior to the historic Camp David Accords.While it is a beautiful place on the Mediterranean Coast, there is the matter of landmines. Estimates have never been accurate but it is well-known and documented that there are a large number of unexploded landmines which have caused human casualties and hindered development in the area, over the years. These landmines date back to World War II and Egypt has not had the capacity to resolve the situation. Specifically where the landmines are located has not been well-documented, only that they are in the Western desert region including in Sidi Abdel Rahman.Sidi Abdel Rahman is near the site of the famous Battle of El Alamein of World War II in 1942. Mausoleums and a cemetery for the Allies is nearby with at least ninety-nine soldiers laid to rest there. The unmarked remains of thousands of other German soldiers are in that cemetery, as well. On September 30, 1942, the settlement was the site of the death of German Luftwaffe ace Hans-Joachim Marseille, who claimed an unrivaled total of 158 aircraft destroyed against the Allies.